Paul Finebaum speculates on next steps for Alabama after Nick Saban's retirement

There are all sorts of directions that Alabama could go in with their coaching search in the aftermath of the retirement of Nick Saban. Now, on the morning after, Paul Finebaum has shared his latest thoughts on which way the Crimson Tide could be leaning in their process.

Finebaum joined on during a segment on ‘First Take’ on Thursday to discuss Saban’s decision. As such, they eventually reached the topic of what the Tide will do next as far as a hire. Firstly, Finebaum said the timeline of this all matters. That’s considering no one is completely sure of how long those in Tuscaloosa have known this was coming.

“Well, I think the one thing we don’t know, Molly, is how long the athletic director there know has been aware of this?” Finebaum said. “My sense is he had a hint.”

“As I let you know, Stephen A., privately, I felt like this was the year. But then there were just distinctions and distractions. Every time I saw him this year? There was just a look in his eye that he was closer to the end. I don’t think he wanted to come back and have people say, ‘Well, this is obviously his last year’ – exactly what (Bill) Belichick has gone through this season as soon as he started losing. Nick Saban was not concerned about losing but it was going to be more difficult next year.”

That’s when Finebaum started to provide his answers as far as potential candidates. He started off with one of the hottest names on the board in Oregon’s Dan Lanning considering his connections as a former staff member under Saban. Pair that with his overall resumé and he’d be a clear choice if the Tide could pull it off.

“Back to the question? I think they are looking very seriously at a couple of people. Dan Lanning is probably at the top of the list,” said Finebaum. “Dan Lanning, a couple of years ago at the draft? I saw Dan Lanning the day of the draft and he played a voicemail for me from 2015. He said, ‘I want you to hear this’ because this is Nick Saban calling me, offering me a graduate assistant’s job. He keeps it in his phone.”

“It would cost $20 million, which isn’t a big deal,” Finebaum continued. “I think he’s the kind of coach that Alabama is probably going to look at.”

From there, Finebaum listed two more names as potential options. One is another former staff member under Saban at Alabama. The other is an adored former player who’s candidacy is more complicated due to his current coaching circumstances at the next level.

“I think (Steve) Sarkisian is on that list for the obvious reasons,” Finebaum said.

“I don’t think they’ll go NFL. And I don’t think he’ll take it – but DeMeco Ryans was an All-American at Alabama. He’s beloved by that school,” said Finebaum. “It would be a very unique hire. But I think that would be complicated. I think they want a coach by the end of this week. That’s not going to happen with Demeco Ryans.”

Based on all the information, this doesn’t seem as though it’ll be too long of a process for Alabama. How they choose to go about it and who they decide to hire, though, will change the trajectory of the program and affect the sport for years to come.